Shadow
by DabbleDabble
Summary: Blackwidow, Cap & the avengers must work together to capture an evil entity threatening to destroy the world. The entity seeks to divide and conquer the avengers through their weaknesses & fears. Natasha/Cap/Hawkeye, Jane/Loki/Thor, and later the others. Please Read & Review


Chapter One

Clint Barton hung by a single hand from the helicopter's ledge. His legs dangled, he felt heavy as he kicked against the air beneath him. The city sat hundreds of feet below them, unaware of Barton and Romanoff's plans to take down a crime lord.  
>'Any moment now would be great, Natasha!' He barked, clenching his aching hand tightly around the ledge. The helicopter roared as it bumbled through the sky.<br>Andre Larson's carnivorous gaze shifted from Natasha Romanoff to the helicopter door. He could have sworn he heard something. She stroked his jaw causing his eyes to dart back to hers, momentarily forgetting what he thought he heard.  
>He leant in close, pressing his nose against hers, 'wait until we get to the hotel.' Natasha purred, staying in character.<br>The sleazy crime lord knew her as 'Veronica Hauffman', a rich business woman who had a soft spot for men like him. He was a physical guy and she had done her best to delay his advances until she could retrieve the information they needed.  
>'Here.' He ordered softly, she knew exactly what he meant by that. She hated men sometimes. Romanoff ignored the way the mere scent of him made her stomach turn. A mission is a mission, she reminded herself. He went to kiss her neck when he noticed a slight crackle from her ear. He grabbed her roughly by the nape of her neck and ripped her earring off.<br>Romanoff panicked, he found the tracker. She had no choice but to headbutt him, hard. He grunted and leant back into his seat.  
>She then slammed her fist into his face, 'Bitch!' he spat at her as blood dripped from his nose. He clutched her throat then punched her hard in the gut. She groaned, that would bruise. Acting fast, she flicked open her purse and grabbed the sedative injection, jamming it into his neck as the helicopter rocked from the hubbub.<br>The pilot glanced at her, alarmed.  
>'Keep her in the air…' She ordered. The nervous pilot nodded, gulping down terror as he did his job.<br>Romanoff opened the helicopter door and saw Clint dangling from the ledge, 'It's about time…!' He yelled over the sound of the chopper, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up and into the chopper. He landed against her, too close for comfort. Natasha pulled away and turned to the pilot, 'Land two hundred feet south west.'  
>'We're gonna need back up.' Clint said, he was breathless from hanging off the chopper. He extended his arm and winced.<br>'We'll be fine.' Natasha said. Barton turned away and stood by the pilot as Natasha changed out of the red dress and into her Blackwidow outfit. He couldn't quite place it, but something seemed off about her lately. He didn't ask, it wasn't his business.  
>Natasha zipped up her suit and let down her auburn locks, she glanced at Barton who was cradling his arm as he and the pilot stared ahead out the window. She could barely look at Clint lately. Something had changed inside her since helping Steve bring down Hydra.<br>She hated having a heart, she hated it. It was throwing her off her game. It used to be so easy to walk away from handsome but troubled men. When did all that change? Or perhaps the better question was, how was Steve Rogers the guy to change all of that for her? She resented herself for being unable to get him out of her head.  
>'We land, we take out both bases. I'll head to the quarantine and download the files, then we set the timer to blow it off the face o the earth.'<p>

'Trust me…' Barton said as he glanced down at the approaching landing point, 'we'll need back up.'  
>'Got anyone in mind?' Natasha asked, implying they were alone on this one. As the chopper began to descend what was below them became alarmingly clear. The bases were guarded by heavily armored men carrying assault rifles. And right now, both squads of goons were staring up at the chopper in concern. The cocked their guns.<br>'I know a guy.' Clint retorted.  
>'Sure.' Natasha quipped as the chopper landed. 'I take east you take west?'<br>'Just like Budapest.' Barton smirked, Natasha felt a pang of reluctance at the thought of Budapest, things were different now. Things had changed but she didn't have the heart to tell Barton that, depending on who you asked, Natasha Romanoff had no heart at all.

Hawkeye shot arrow after arrow as he leapt from the helicopter, he rolled across the ground and took cover behind a large container. He heard bullets drilling the chopper and the dirt around him, his eyes darted to the scaffolding protruding from a small building. He headed for it. He pushed a button on his watch. Back up would be here in no time.  
>As the chopper hit the ground, the pilot raised his hands in surrender and stepped out of the aircraft, kneeling to the ground. The goons peered at the still chopper.<br>'we got one guy. Bow and arrow freak.' A guard said into his radio, 'our boys have him surrounded.' He announced as he turned and looked at the scaffolding.

Natasha ducked as she stalked swiftly along the outskirts of the encampment. There were two armed guards who took turns to scout the entrance. She timed them. The guards were out of each other's line of sight for five seconds every ten seconds. She began to countdown as she followed one, keeping herself low.  
><em>Five…four…three…two…-<em>Natasha locked a guard in a sleeper hold. He struggled against her small frame, as she lowered him to the ground. She has four seconds to drag him out of sight.  
>'O'Neil?' The second guard's voice intruded from a few feet ahead. Natasha dragged the first guard over into the bushes and peered at the second guard. He scanned the surroundings but didn't notice anything.<br>'Lazy prick, I have to do everything around here.' He muttered in frustration.  
>Natasha emerged from the bushes and crept up behind the guard, she delivered a solid blow to the base of his skull, knocking him out instantly. She searched his pockets, locating an ID card she approached the entrance. She studied the door, she swiped the ID card it flashed green then a panel in the door unexpectedly turned red and began to scan her eye.<br>A firm hand yanked her by the elbow and pulled her to the side just as the laser scanner shot lasers outwards. Breathless, she found herself pushed up against the Cap, he was muscular and tall. He held her firmly.  
>'Missed me?' He asked, bemused.<br>'Don't flatter yourself.' Natasha replied, fighting back a smile as she locked eyes with him. 'I owe you one.'  
>'They have retinal scanners that are armed. Those lasers would have shot your head right off your pretty shoulders.'<br>'Pretty? You goin soft on me, Cap?"  
>Steve smirked at her then took her by the hand and led her down the side of the building until they came to a halt opposite a small window.<br>'I'll boost you up. Once you're inside you've got-'  
>'-Three minutes before the alarms trip and the HQ are alerted. It's my mission, Cap. I know what I'm doing.'<br>Steve smiled, almost proud of her. He kneeled and put out his shield, she sprinted toward him and he lifted her up into the air. She propelled herself off the shield and toward the open window. She slid her legs into the small space and tuned back to Cap.  
>'See you in a few.' She said. Steve smiled warmly at her, 'I've missed this Romanoff.'<p>

As she slid into the lab, she became aware of how hard her heart was hammering against her chest. Clint had called Steve of all people. He was the only guy who could throw her off her game. What did he mean by 'I missed this'? She scolded herself, _get a grip, he means missions._  
>A good egg like Steve didn't have intentions for her. She pushed her irrational thoughts to the back of her mind, she hadn't seen Steve in months. She remembered his soft and uncertain kiss though. It was the first time a guy had let her kiss him and hadn't kissed her back. It had bemused her initially, but the more time she spent with Cap, the more she began to appreciate the respect and care with which he treated her.<br>He was the only man who had used his own body to shield her when the Hydra base exploded. Albeit his physical attributes were more enhanced than the average guy, but that was the moment that had forever etched itself into her mind. The ways in which experiencing his protectiveness over her had forced to reexamine her priorities and where her loyalties lay had been a difficult learning curve. He told her he trusted her to do the same. He said it with such faith that she began to want to reciprocate it. He made her face what she was becoming and take the steps to dare to be who she wanted to be.  
>Here she was, weeks later, dismantling organized crime, neutralizing and destroying weapons that could eliminate the human race, and fighting the good fight.<br>She owed him a lot. Her hand drifted to the place where Clint's necklace used to hang, it was empty now. Bare. She had given the necklace to a small girl she found in a village in Goa a month ago. She would always owe and respect Clint, and care about him. But as of late, her feelings were different. She didn't know how, and she didn't dare explore it yet but all she knew was she was drawn to Steve. Not attracted, not attached, but drawn to him, like there was some kind of force pulling her to him. And that wasn't fair on Clint, even though she wasn't pursuing it.  
>She knew Clint had noticed the change. Nothing had really happened between her and Clint, other than that night in Budapest. She had even began doing less missions with him, just to get him used to the idea of not having her around as a partner.<br>She felt ridiculous thinking about it over and over, nothing had even happened between her and Steve. She wondered if he felt the pull between them. She concluded that she would never find out.  
>Steve Rogers didn't seem to date, despite Natasha's efforts to find him a suitable date.<br>She wedged the memory stick into the computer and watched it come to life as information began to flicker across the screen. She glanced back at the small window through which she had entered and wondered how long she would have to work in such close proximity with Clint and Steve. It filled her with dread and nerves. Clint could already tell she was off her game, the last thing she needed was for either of them to find out why. It was hard enough being a woman in a man's world, let alone being a woman in love, in a man's world.


End file.
